Vol. 94, No. 44 1 section, 12 pages
FRIDAY
March 24, 2006
www.acuoptimist.com
Pro prospects
Common delays
‘Vendetta’ delivers
Five Wildcats work out for scouts from 12 professional teams, page 12
Delays in receiving equipment postponed the Learning Commons’ opening until April, page 3
V for Vendetta causes viewers to think about freedom, page 4
Delta Theta makes return
Equality Riders set for stop University prepares for day of activities n After assurances from Soulforce that there will not be civil disobedience here, administrators said the campus is ready for peaceful dialogue.
n After remaining deactivated for almost six months, the women’s social club completed its self-study of the group and now can participate in spring rushes and formal.
By JONATHAN SMITH Editor in Chief
With months of preparations, planning and organization behind, the campus now awaits Sunday’s arrival of the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender activist group Soulforce on its Equality Ride tour. Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, said he thinks students and faculty here are prepared for Soulforce’s arrival this weekend and Monday’s scheduled day of activities and forums. “Overall, the campus is ready,” Money said. “We have made an effort and will continue to be Christlike in our approach but at the same time firm in our stance about scripture.” Soulforce Equality Ride began visiting religious and military universities and institutions March 10 with the
By MALLORY SHERWOOD Managing Editor
Delta Theta was reactivated Wednesday, six months after pledging was halted. Administrators stopped pledging midway through October after the club’s advisers resigned because they didn’t agree with the direction the club was headed, said Dr. Wayne Barnard, dean of Campus Life. “The women completed a self-study of the club which encouraged them to go back to the original ideas of the club and to see what was tradition in the club,” Barnard said. “They had mean-spirited pledging See
DT page 8
GSP cyclists raise $8,500 n Twenty members of the social club Gamma Sigma Phi took turns riding bicycles continuously for almost three days to ride more than 1,200 miles to Malibu, Calif. By JACI SCHNEIDER Copy Editor
One hospital visit, one Price is Right contestant, about $8,500, and more than 1,200 bicycled miles came together to make a spring break to remember for 20 men of Gamma Sigma Phi. The students bicycled from Abilene to Malibu, Calif., to raise money for the research of Osteogenesis Imperfecta, an incurable disease that afflicts 10-year-old Matt Phillips, son of Dr. Mark Phillips, assistant professor of management. The group left Abilene on the afternoon of March 10 and arrived in Malibu the morning of March See
BIKE page 8
Brian Schmidt/Chief Photographer
Dr. Wayne Barnard, dean of Campus Life, speaks to students during Chapel on Thursday about next week’s visit by the Soulforce Equality Ride. Barnard gave details about the visit and answered students’ questions
Group expects warmer welcome in Abilene n After significant restrictions during their first six stops on the tour, a co-director of Equality Ride said she looks forward to open discussion in Abilene. By MALLORY SHERWOOD Managing Editor
After six failed attempts to publicly speak on religious campuses chosen because of their supposed enrollment ban of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students, members of Soulforce Equality Ride anticipate a better reception during their visit Monday in Abilene. Thirty-four Equality Riders left March 5 for a seven-week bus tour to 19 academic institutions and military academies in hopes of creating dialogue
between administrators, faculty and students about the implications, effects and suffering caused by the ban of GLBT students. Of the past six visits, none of the universities has allowed the riders to publicly discuss their views on campus and at three of the universities — Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., and Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla. — members were arrested for stepping on to university property. Haven Herrin, co-director of Equality Ride, said the schools made the decision to arrest members. “Our main goal is to See
VISITS page 9
Public forum schedule Three public forums are open to students, faculty and staff and other members of the campus throughout Monday’s activities: • 9-10:45 a.m. - Discussion with Soulforce and university representatives in the Hilton Room of the Campus Center. Multimedia presentation by Soulforce entitled “A history of violence,” and university response and discussion. • 3:30-5 p.m. - Informal dialogue with students, faculty and staff in the Hilton Room. • 7-8:30 p.m. - Coffeehouse conversation regarding the portrayal of sexuality in the media in Hart Auditorium.
purpose of bringing “hope and healing to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students who are forced to live and suffer in closets of fear on their college campus,” according to its Web site, www.equalityride.com. Jacob Reitan, 24-yearold co-director of Equality Ride, said for many people, oppressing or discriminating GLBT is second nature. “But we’re trying to challenge that notion and make it uncomfortable for people to feel that way without thinking about it,” Reitan said.
Monday’s visit ACU is the seventh stop on the 51-day tour, but it is the first university to cooperate with Equality Ride to allow members on campus and plan activities and forums for the group’s day-and-a-half stay. Four private universities visited by Equality Ride — Liberty, Regent, Union and Oral Roberts — have not allowed the group on campus. Almost 40 arrests have been See
SOULFORCE page 9
Students curious to see reactions to Soulforce n Some report hearing only positive feedback about the visit, but others said they have heard displeasure with the university’s handling of the situation. By SARAH CARLSON Arts Editor
As the university awaits the visit from Soulforce’s Equality Ride, many students are anxious about the visit’s outcome and whether opposing opinions will lead to violent behavior. ACU is one of 19 religious and military institutions along Equality Ride’s route and the first after six stops to open its doors to the group. Administrators have planned in detail the events for the visit, scheduling time for Soulforce members to interact with students and faculty, with goals for each group to learn more about the other. Many students expressed a sense of anxiety and a feeling of uncertainty of what Soulforce stands for or why it is visiting campus. “I think it’s a ticking
time bomb waiting to go off,” said Zach Tabers, senior vocal performance major from Abilene, about the outcome of the visit and the students’ reaction to Soulforce. “I don’t think it will be that dramatic, but I think it could get out of control easily.” Tabers said it is a credit to the university that it is welcoming Soulforce members to campus, and it is important for the university to explore various ideas and opinions while exhibiting an attitude of Christian love. “The fact that we’re a Christian university means that students, faculty and administrators should act as Jesus did,” he said. “That means acting as a gracious host while these people are here, being Christ-like.” Kevan Kirksey, freshman finance and accounting major from Tyler, said he thinks ACU has handled the lead-up to Soulforce’s visit better than the other See
STUDENTS page 9
Students ratify new constitution n The Students’ Association Congress next week will turn its attention to reworking its bylaws to correspond with the newly approved constitution. By JONATHAN SMITH Editor in Chief
Brian Schmidt/Chief Photographer
Cortney Armstrong, senior integrated marketing communication major from Mesquite, and Kisha Knight, senior IMC major from Mesquite, look at a list of proposed changes to the Students’ Association constitution before voting Tuesday in the Campus Center. Department of Journalism and Mass Communication
Students overwhelmingly voted to ratify the new constitution for the Students’ Association Congress during voting Tuesday and Wednesday. Only 168 students cast
votes in the constitutional election, with 157 voting in favor of the new document, which well surpassed the majority vote required for ratification. The vote totals represented less than 4 percent of the student body, but Melanie Booker, vice president of SA, said elections that focus on a document rather than candidates often produce a smaller turnout. “I am glad that 168 people felt it was important enough
to cast a ballot,” Booker said. The new constitution must be put into effect within 10 days of ratification, and Congress likely will have it in place by Wednesday’s SA meeting so it can debate and potentially vote on new bylaws to correspond with the new document. The new constitution makes several changes that affect student representation on Congress. Two seats on Congress now will be available for off-campus residen-
Abilene Christian University
tial representatives. Although students living on campus have had residential representation on Congress, offcampus students previously were unrepresented in this area. The new constitution also removes the International Students Association liaison as a voting member of Congress — a move made because no other campus organization has specific voting privileges on Congress. E-mail Smith at: jvs02a@acu.edu
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